On the way home from Whistler, we decided to make more pit stops, rather than zooming all the way from the sky to the sea. We stopped at Fox and Oak for donuts: 

The top one is Puppy Chow (peanut butter and chocolate), and the bottom one, chosen by S, is a gluten free Pumpkin Spice flavor. More flavors available can be found, feel free to explore their menu online.  

Can they please come to Vancouver? 

We need these fluffy bites of heaven closer to home. 

Our next stop was at Shannon Falls, and after that, everybody fell asleep except me, the driver. It was a lovely, quiet trip home. 

1. Organising - I've watched and rewatched The Home Edit a few times now... 

2. Postpartum hair loss - how has this already started?! As I am typing this now, another strand of my hair is floating down onto the pile that is building up on the floor by the side of my bed.

3. Travelling to warm locations with beach, sunshine, blue sky. Mexico? Hawaii? Australia - would we survive the 20 hour flight with the kids?

4. Visiting coffee shops, iced lattes, espresso tonics, green smoothies, donuts:

Today, H picked up Lee's Donuts, a strawberry and a chocolate, from Sorry Coffee at Brentwood. They're not the best donuts in the world, but they're reliable. They have that thicker, cake-y consistency, nothing fancy, just a simple layer of frosting on top. I was seriously craving some sugar when I woke up this morning around 10AM, so H really saved me. 

Waking at 10AM with a newborn and a toddler, how do you swing that miracle, you ask? 

My lovely husband takes care of the toddler when he's home on the weekends, and keeps her away from our room while I snooze. Of course, it's interrupted sleep because I am breastfeeding on demand, so when I slept for a 3 hour stretch last night, I woke up ready to take on the world again.

We went to Brentwood Mall today, and it felt like such an adventure. It's been a while since we went out with baby S on a relatively longer trip away from home, and we were not prepared. She became quite hangry towards the end, and we really pushed her to her edge by running one more errand...  

Meanwhile, mom and dad were extremely satisfied with their coffees from the new cafe that just opened this week! The main purpose of this mall adventure was to visit Soon Coffee. They had advertised strongly via foodie influencers, and I was definitely influenced by their raving reviews. I can't wait to come back, and sit at the beautiful new food court, and just people watch... 

 

They also serve Lee's Donuts! Another reason to visit again and again. 

I try not to let other people affect my mood, because I can't control what other people do or say. It really was a perfect morning, and then, BAM, somebody says something out of the blue, and I can feel my insides curling into a dark ball. Sometimes, I also feel that same sinking feeling when I say the wrong thing, and I can see the other person is having an adverse reaction to my words and tone. 

Generally, I would just avoid meeting with those people, but I don't want to do this to family members.  It's awkward, but you put up with their sharp comments ("Why did you put this plant here?", "Make sure you exercise", "Don't make this food, do it like this."), because they're relatives, and usually, I do want to keep them in my life. Boundaries are necessary though.

Other than some annoying moments, it was a super good and productive day, so don't let the last few paragraphs trick you into thinking I'm in rough shape! Lots to look forward to this week.   

M&M came over the other day to visit me and baby S, and they came bearing gifts from Mello, a new-ish donut shop in Vancouver specializing in brioche donuts: 

All three of us were constantly receiving ads on Instagram ever since their opening day, constantly reminding us to buy their beautiful donuts. I had previously tried to pick some up, one afternoon, without preordering, and they were all sold out, so I was pretty glad that M could drop by right when they opened at 10AM. Even then, they are so popular that M was only able to purchase their last 4 donuts, which were the strawberries and cream special brioche donuts (see photo above - aren't they the most photogenic donuts you have ever seen?). 

I haven't had many brioche donuts in the past, so not much to compare with. These ones from mello were quite fluffy, and they're literally exploding with cream. For $5 though, I wish it could've had more fresh strawberries in the centre, and overall more flavor, as I found it was not quite sweet enough. Do post pregnancy hormones affect taste buds? 

Mello is worth visiting at least once, if you're already around the Chinatown area, but I wouldn't go out of my way to come back. I'm probably not a fair judge of their product either, because brioche donuts aren't really my thing, and if I wanted a real satisfying donut, I would rather go to 49th Parallel. Come to check out their cute store front though! 

Also, check out how big I look in the reflection of their entrance when I tried to pick some up in May, during the last trimester of my pregnancy! I remember wondering back then whether I would be too busy and tired for personal hygiene. So far, seven weeks in, I've always remembered to brush my teeth at least once a day. 

I mean, it feels like all the days have really merged into one long day... 

H and I were conveniently located near Steveston one day, after work, so we explored the little shops around this area of the city. H got hangry, and the smell of the mini donuts at Outpost Mini Donuts lured us in:

I absolutely fell in love with the blueberry donut. It was still a bit too sweet to eat on its own without a drink, so we had the lemonade too. A coffee would’ve been nice, but it was late afternoon, and I didn’t want to spend too much time lying awake in bed because of too much caffeine. There were a few other flavours, including boston cream, salted caramel, chocolate, etc. 1/2 a dozen for $4.75! I will be back for more.

Sometimes, I have to remind myself to keep asking questions, and that if I know the answers, I should ask bigger questions.

Oh right, I forgot to mention one more thing about the donuts. They cater for special events. I'd like some blueberry donuts scattered around my reception table if I ever get married.

Took a half day at work to get my hair did, and ended up going to 49th Parallel on 4th for the $5 Sakura donut. Was it worth it? It was STUFFED with cream, I wish I got a chance to document it oozing out with every bite. The cream is supposed to be a matcha white chocolate mix, but the matcha can only be faintly tasted. It’s pretty sweet, but it goes so well with the coffee.
Coffee was strong and on the acidic side.


49th Parallel is always so busy. Too crowded for my liking, but can't resist the donuts.



Afterwards, went to the bank to save money. I should try to save more money, but I really want to get this:

It would look nice in the office, and I could bring it around instead of using disposable cups! We were born to consume after all, and I should try not to worry too much about the trash I’ll be leaving behind. Speaking of the office, I think I've learned to really enjoy the office environment. People can be so funny sometimes if you don’t take them so seriously.

G for Gerry or J for Jerry?

I thought I’d put in the effort to plan a party, but ended up getting way too busy with things that life throw at you. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel though. Here’s how I’ve been celebrating so far:

Price Smart Dark Forest cake at work. Their cakes have always been surprisingly good, and this one did not disappoint. Thanks guys.

Fauborg!!!! Rich and full of flavors, aroma, texture, gold flakes. This was their espresso chocolate one I think… Not sure as H ordered it for me. It’s a little too rich for everyday, but such a treat for my birthday. Thanks H and family.

Donuts from Cartem’s instead of cake. Had a bit of the earl grey (pretty good), london fog (B’s favorite, cream filled and pretty good), coconut cream (cream filled again, and average), honey parmesan (I didn’t taste any parmesan, but apparently everybody else did), and the walnut (average).  The light in this Main Street location is fabulous though, and it smelled so good that I started salivating once I stepped inside. I still prefer Lucky’s though. Sorry B!

Much gratitude to everybody for starting this year with me. Birthdays are sure different from what they used to be. I’m starting to prefer the smaller groups, partly because it’s so hard to get everybody together. It’s usually worth the effort, but it’s also impossible to plan. I guess once the babies start coming, we’ll be even busier. We’re not even past January, and there’s been a lot of baby talk this year already. I’m not ready for this. I still have so many places to go!

Battle of the donuts continues…

49th Parallel has these scrumptious Halloween Special donuts, stuffed with pumpkin puree, with a pumpkin glaze and chocolate icing. The stem… IS AN ALMOND!!!! Creativity a its best. Coffee, as always, was on par. Might not be too late yet to get one today.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

Still working on this same book, which is really making me doubt my choices and decisions.

The moment after you keep going even though you’re ready to give up, and you realize that it was worth the pain because it got you where you are right now.

I believe that everybody’s got to put in their time. Then you can enjoy what you worked for.

Very honestly though, kayaking is not my thing. H has been whining to go though, so I finally gave in and planned a trip with a couple other pals this Sunday. What a grey day, rained a bit. I treated myself to some Honey Doughnuts after we reached Cates Park:

 

It was not as good as I recall! Maybe because they were stuffed in the kayak in a dry bag for a good 2 hours. Not the soft, fluffy fried dough that I recall. Maybe I’ll stick to the waffles at Cafe Orso on future trips to Deep Cove.

Throw Back Tuesday to last summer/fall. I stopped at Lucky’s Doughnuts for some of the best doughnuts in town, before going to H’s house, where he made fresh coffee with [a chunk of] coconut butter. Breakfast dates are some of the best ways to start off the day. I love coming in early when there’s nobody here yet, but usually it’s pretty crowded and there are no seats.

Long John with Cream Filling:

I think this was a French Crueller:

I don’t remember the prices, but I think it’s about $5 for a coffee + donut. You pay for what you get. The doughnuts are just the right amount of sweetness, doesn’t leave you feeling too heavy and oily. Wash it all down with some serious hit you right in the face strength coffee.



This is one of the first places where H and I first hung out. 9 more days - we're in the single digits!